//Importing to Australia & New Zealand

Goods valued above AUD 1,000 require a full import declaration to the Australian Border Force.

Consignments with a customs value above AUD 1,000 must be entered on an Import Declaration (N10) before the goods can be cleared. At or below that value, a Self-Assessed Clearance (SAC) declaration is normally lodged by the carrier or freight forwarder. Import processing charges apply per declaration and differ for air, sea and post. Declarations are usually lodged by a licensed customs broker acting on the importer's behalf.

Full declaration required above AUD 1,000 customs value

Authority

Australian Border Force ↗

Instrument

Customs Act 1901

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Duty depends entirely on the tariff classification of the goods — the general rate is 5%, but many lines are free.

Every imported good must be classified to an 8-digit tariff line in Schedule 3 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995. The classification determines the duty rate, the applicable concessions, and whether any anti-dumping measure applies. Misclassification is the most common and most expensive importing error we see, because it fails in both directions: overpayment is never refunded unless you claim it, and underpayment is recoverable by the ABF for four years with penalties. Binding advice can be obtained through a tariff advice application.

General rate 5%; many lines free

Authority

Australian Border Force ↗

Instrument

Customs Tariff Act 1995

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Measures apply to a range of goods from China — notably steel, aluminium extrusions and some chemicals — and can exceed the value of the goods.

Where goods are found to be dumped or subsidised and causing injury to Australian industry, the Anti-Dumping Commission imposes duties that can be several times the general rate. These attach to the goods and to the specific exporter, and importers are liable regardless of whether they knew. Before committing to any metal, chemical or building-product line from China, the current measures register must be checked against the specific exporter you intend to buy from.

Authority

Anti-Dumping Commission ↗

Instrument

Customs Act 1901 Part XVB

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Only a licensed customs broker may act as your agent in customs business for reward.

Under the Customs Act 1901, transacting customs business on behalf of an owner for reward requires a customs broker licence. Gateway International is a sourcing, negotiation and landed-cost advisory service. We are not a licensed customs broker and we do not lodge declarations on your behalf. Customs clearance on programmes we run is performed by a licensed broker partner, engaged by you directly or nominated by us with your consent. Any information we provide on classification, duty or GST is general and must be confirmed by your broker before lodgement.

Authority

Australian Border Force ↗

Instrument

Customs Act 1901 s183C

Reviewed

2026-07-01

GST is charged at 10% of the value of the taxable importation: customs value plus international transport, insurance and any duty.

The value of the taxable importation (VoTI) is the customs value of the goods, plus the cost of international transport and insurance to their place of consignment in Australia, plus any customs duty and wine equalisation tax payable. GST is 10% of that total. GST-registered importers can generally claim the amount back as an input tax credit on their next BAS, so for most businesses it is a cash-flow cost rather than a real cost — which is exactly why landed-cost models must show it as a separate line and never bury it in the unit price.

Authority

Australian Taxation Office ↗

Instrument

A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Most goods of Chinese origin enter Australia duty-free under ChAFTA — but only with valid origin documentation.

The China–Australia Free Trade Agreement eliminated duty on the overwhelming majority of tariff lines. Claiming the preference requires the goods to satisfy the rules of origin for their tariff line, be covered by a Certificate of Origin or Declaration of Origin issued by an authorised body, and meet the direct-consignment requirement. Importers routinely pay duty they did not owe simply because nobody asked the factory for the certificate. Checking whether your existing shipments claim preference correctly is one of the first things we look at in a benchmark audit.

Authority

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ↗

Instrument

China–Australia Free Trade Agreement

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Many goods need an import permit or treatment before they can be released — check BICON before the factory ships.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry maintains import conditions for every commodity in the BICON database. Conditions can require an import permit obtained before shipment, offshore treatment with certification, or on-arrival inspection and treatment at the importer's cost. Goods that arrive without the required permit can be held, treated, re-exported or destroyed. Timber, bamboo, straw, seeds, animal products, used machinery and anything with soil contamination are the usual triggers.

Authority

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry ↗

Instrument

Biosecurity Act 2015

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Pallets, crates and dunnage made of solid timber must be treated and marked to ISPM 15.

Solid-wood packaging must be heat-treated or fumigated and bear the ISPM 15 mark with the treatment provider's registration code. Untreated or unmarked timber packaging is the most frequent cause of container holds and mandatory treatment on arrival at the importer's expense. Specifying treated pallets — or plywood and pressed-wood alternatives, which are exempt — in the purchase order costs nothing and avoids the problem entirely.

Supplying goods that do not meet a mandatory standard is an offence — and as the importer, you are the supplier.

The Australian Consumer Law sets mandatory safety standards and information standards for a long list of consumer goods, including toys for children under three, children's nightwear, bicycle helmets, cots, prams and strollers, and aquatic toys. It also imposes permanent and interim bans on specified goods. Compliance is assessed against the standard in force at the time of supply, and an importer that supplies non-compliant goods commits the offence regardless of what the factory claimed. Testing to the correct AS/NZS standard, by a laboratory whose reports the ACCC will accept, is a pre-shipment step — not a post-arrival one.

Authority

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ↗

Instrument

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 Schedule 2

Reviewed

2026-07-01

If the overseas maker has no Australian presence, the importer is treated as the manufacturer under the Australian Consumer Law.

Section 7 of the Australian Consumer Law treats an importer as the manufacturer of goods where the actual manufacturer does not have a place of business in Australia. That carries the full weight of the consumer guarantees — acceptable quality, fitness for purpose, correspondence with description — plus liability for goods with safety defects and the obligation to compensate for loss caused by them. In practice this is the most under-priced risk in importing from China: the factory's practical liability ends at the port, and yours begins there. It is why we treat factory audits, testing and pre-shipment inspection as part of the cost of the goods rather than an optional extra.

In-scope electrical equipment needs a registered Responsible Supplier and the Regulatory Compliance Mark.

The Electrical Equipment Safety System classifies in-scope equipment as Level 1, 2 or 3 by risk. Level 2 and 3 equipment must be registered on the national database before sale, supported by a certificate of conformity from a recognised body. The importer must register as a Responsible Supplier, hold the compliance evidence, and apply the RCM. Registration is annual and must be in place before the goods are supplied — which for an importer means before the container is unpacked to a customer, not before the first retail sale.

Authority

Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council ↗

Instrument

State and territory electrical safety legislation

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Devices that emit radio frequency energy need ACMA compliance records and the RCM before supply.

Equipment covered by the electromagnetic compatibility, radiocommunications or telecommunications arrangements must have compliance records assembled and held by the supplier, the supplier must be registered on the national database, and the RCM applied. This captures far more than obvious radio products: switch-mode power supplies, LED drivers, motors and most microprocessor-controlled devices fall within the EMC arrangement. Chinese factories will often supply a CE or FCC report; neither satisfies the Australian arrangement on its own.

Authority

Australian Communications and Media Authority ↗

Instrument

Radiocommunications Act 1992; Telecommunications Act 1997

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Anyone importing industrial chemicals must register with AICIS before the first importation.

The Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme requires registration by businesses that import or manufacture industrial chemicals, with annual renewal and category-based introduction obligations. 'Industrial chemical' is broad: it captures cosmetics, cleaning products, adhesives, inks, paints, solvents and the chemical content of many articles. Introductions are categorised by risk, and higher categories require assessment before introduction.

Authority

Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme ↗

Instrument

Industrial Chemicals Act 2019

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Imported food must comply with the Food Standards Code and is subject to the Imported Food Inspection Scheme.

Food imported into Australia must meet the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, including composition, labelling, additives and contaminant limits. The Imported Food Inspection Scheme applies risk-based border testing, with a higher inspection rate for risk foods and for importers with a failure history. Country of origin labelling requirements apply to most food sold at retail.

Authority

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry / FSANZ ↗

Instrument

Imported Food Control Act 1992; Food Standards Code

Reviewed

2026-07-01

Medical devices and therapeutic goods must be included in the ARTG before they can be imported for supply.

Therapeutic goods, including medical devices, must generally be entered in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods before import, supply or export. The sponsor must be an Australian entity and carries the regulatory obligations, including conformity assessment evidence appropriate to the device classification, post-market vigilance and recall capability. Class I devices have the lightest pathway; anything higher requires substantially more evidence and lead time than most importers plan for.

Authority

Therapeutic Goods Administration ↗

Instrument

Therapeutic Goods Act 1989

Reviewed

2026-07-01

All forms of asbestos are banned from import into Australia. The importer carries the liability, without exception.

Australia prohibits the importation of goods containing asbestos in any form. Chinese suppliers may lawfully use asbestos-containing materials domestically, and it continues to be found in imported gaskets, brake and clutch components, insulation, sealing rope, crayons, powders and some cement products. Supplier assurances are not a defence. The ABF expects documented due diligence — supply-chain mapping, contractual warranties and, for higher-risk goods, sampling and testing by a NATA-accredited laboratory before shipment. Penalties include seizure, destruction at the importer's cost, and substantial fines.

Authority

Australian Border Force ↗

Instrument

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956

Reviewed

2026-07-01

The Incoterm decides where risk and cost transfer — and it is where most quotes stop being comparable.

Incoterms 2020 allocate cost and risk between seller and buyer. An EXW price and a DDP price for the same goods are not comparable numbers, and a factory quoting FOB Shenzhen is quoting a different obligation from one quoting CIF Melbourne. A large share of the 'savings' importers believe they are getting from a cheaper supplier disappears once the quotes are normalised to the same term and the same delivery point. Every landed-cost model we produce is normalised to delivered-to-your-door so the comparison means something.

Authority

International Chamber of Commerce ↗

Instrument

Incoterms 2020

Reviewed

2026-07-01

This library is general guidance. It is not legal, customs, tax or other professional advice.

The compliance information published on this site is general in nature, is not tailored to your circumstances, and does not take account of your particular goods, contracts or tax position. Requirements change, and thresholds and rates published here may not be current at the time you read them. Gateway International is not a licensed customs broker, a legal practice or a registered tax agent. Before relying on any of it, confirm the position with your licensed customs broker, your legal adviser and your accountant. Where we deliver a paid advisory engagement, the scope, assumptions and limitations of what we provide are set out in writing in the engagement itself.